Regulations governing the low-speed damageability requirements for automobiles across the globe are different. These regulations, in general, can be classified into two categories: the first for the European continent and the second for the U.S. Although, the terminologies used are different, the Pacific Rim also follows the European norms with slightly more relaxed requirements for impact. This means that the energy absorbing system designed to meet the requirements in Europe & Pacific rim are different from the one used for the U.S. market.
In Europe and the Pacific region, the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) 42 (1 Jun. 1980) and Research Council for Automobile Repair (i.e., low speed 15 kilometers per hour (kph)), Offset Insurance Crash Test to determine Damageability and Repairability features of a Motor Vehicle, January 1999 (hereinafter “RCAR”) require that bumper systems at both the front and rear side of the vehicle withstand impact as specified in these standards. In the U.S., a vehicle has to meet Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS, i.e. Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulation (CFR) part 581 dated Apr. 25, 1990; hereinafter “FMVSS part 581”) and RCAR, and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety 10 kph low speed frontal and rear test, May 2006 (hereinafter “IIHS 10 kph test”). The RCAR test program is used by several test houses in Europe, Asia, and South America. FMVSS part 581 is similar in lines with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) regulation No. 42 (ECE-42), dated Nov. 21, 1980, but slightly less stringent, specifying performance requirements for passenger cars in low-speed front and rear collisions. FMVSS part 581 applies to front and rear bumpers on passenger cars to prevent the damage to the car body and safety related equipment at barrier impact speeds of 4.0 kph (2.5 miles per hour (mph)) across the full width and 2.5 kph (1.5 mph) on the corners. The Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) regulation No. 42 requires that a car's safety systems continue to operate normally after the car has been impacted by a pendulum or moving barrier on the front or rear longitudinally at 4 kph (−2.5 mph) and on the front and rear corner at 2.5 kph (−1.5 mph) at 455 mm (about 18 inches) above the ground under loaded and unloaded conditions. The U.S. calls for an additional regulatory requirement of IIHS deformable barrier, which is typically at a speed of 10 kph at the center of the vehicle. Accordingly, for the global automobile manufacturer, it is extremely important to develop a cost-effective global system, which can be easily optimized to meet the requirements at various regulatory platforms. Therefore, an automobile designed to meet the European low-speed damageability regulations may not meet the U.S. damageability requirements. On the other hand, an automobile designed to meet the U.S. requirements may be overdesigned for the European standards. Therefore, there is a need to provide versatile and low cost energy absorbing systems that will still meet strict and at times conflicting design constraints across a variety of government regulations.